A Fragile Flame
by Death-Angel-Hikari
Summary: The truth comes to light, and it all comes crashing down on a young teen. Memories of a family that never was haunt him, newfound knowledge questioning that he knew as fact. Is his a true existence? This Hiwatari heir searches for the answer...
1. Prologue

A/N: I'm back. Wow. It's been so long, I'd almost forgotten what writing (an actual story) was like.

Forgive an errant writer her insanely long absence, and her (quite possibly) horrid writing as a result of lack of practice. But I do hope you enjoy this story as it unravels.

Disclaimer: I only wish...

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**Prologue**

Metallic clanging, whirring, the occasional suppressed shout, more clanging and other sounds of collision. The young teen winced at the noise barrage around him as he walked down the cool, sterile hallway lined in pale gray stone.

Maroon eyes gaze evenly ahead, darting to either side now and again as he passed a number of metal doors with small window-like spaces near the center, taking in what he could see of what went on behind them. None of these were what he sought. He sighed, ran a hand through his hair as he reached an intersection and turned left.

He was used to the ever-crossing passages, ambiguous room names, the constant noise of battles with spinning tops – "spinning tops of doom", as one of his frequent companions had called them, a designation that made him smirk with amusement every so often. He was used to it because he'd had to traverse those passages, enter one room or another, and participate in a number of those battles himself practically every day.

The pale teen, looking even paler in his dark tank top and dark baggy pants, knew the place almost his entire life, having grown up there since the death of his parents. Once in a while, he'd feel something, a bleak emptiness tug at his heart, for this missing piece of his psyche. He remembered very little of his childhood before the endless corridors of stone and harsh yet effective training techniques. What little remained of his memories were hazy at best, yet comforting in his loneliest, most troubled moments when he chose to relive them in his dark, dreary little room for one. He remembered maroon eyes not unlike his own; a gentle smile; an encouraging voice patiently explaining how to hold a shooter and aim at the dish. There had been weekly visits to a nearby park, trips to the riverside, the occasional movie… an ideal childhood, really.

He'd forgotten, now, how long it had been since the airplane crash. The worst in commercial aviary history, if he recalled the news description correctly. But he'd been very young then, only around five or six. He'd stayed with a friend of his father's for a while, until another man – Balkov – had come for him. Balkov – this graying middle-aged man with a hard voice and a hint of evil in his dark eyes - had told him that there was a place for him in the training facility he ran, that his father had been planning to send him there when he was old enough, and that his grandfather had given permission for him to go, to board there. _Your grandfather even agreed to handle the expenses, as he will soon have custody of you, young one_, Balkov had said that time, holding out an inviting hand.

He'd had a choice, apparently – to accept this invitation, or to turn it down and be raised by that same friend who took him in those first few months after the accident, in less privileged conditions than he was used to, yet forever remember his roots, his early childhood, the happiness that had come with it and the bitter sweetness of remembrance. It was obvious what he'd chosen, seeing where he was now.

Balkov Abbey had not changed in the nine or ten years he'd spent there, except for a change in management at one point – Balkov had apparently been re-assigned to another training facility further west, and had been replaced by a man the trainees knew as Yevgeny, who had blue-black hair and younger features but wore Balkov's hard and often eerie smile. The change had been easily forgotten, for it did not merit a change in the abbey's operations.

The young blader stopped short, blinking, slightly appalled at having allowed his thoughts to distract him from what he was supposed to be doing. Red-brown orbs narrowed, and he brushed several strands of loose, blue hair from his face. It didn't matter, he thought; he was standing right in front of the room he'd been summoned to.

His face twitching with what could pass for vague annoyance, the young blader wondered why he'd been told to come here, to this specific room. He'd had to visit it only once before, when he was eight, and that had been to informed of his transfer to the advanced section, having shown great aptitude for the sport and more than a passing interest in the harder training exercises – effects, he felt, of the early introduction he had to the sport that was Beyblading, courtesy of his parents.

"How long has it been since 07144 was summoned?" Yevgeny was undoubtedly inside, for that was his voice. Also, it was only he – and Balkov before him – who used the trainees' registration numbers to refer to them when conversing with his colleagues. The blue-haired teen never really liked their numeral designations; they made him feel like some kind of robot or a factory production.

_Well, what are you waiting for, Hiwatari,_ he thought, tooling his face into his usual emotionless mask, one hand on the door. He pushed it open and was about to speak, when the large computer monitor – it took up easily half the opposite wall – caught his eye. Rather, it was what was displayed on the monitor that called his attention. Eyes widened as he lost the tight rein he so often kept on his emotions, the information before him rooting itself to his mind like a parasite.

_No_…

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"Hey, Kai, you all right?"

Maroon eyes blinked open, and Kai Hiwatari frowned in slight protest at the sudden invasion of light, and the fact that his teammates were all looking at him over the tops of their seats. _Dammit, I must've fallen asleep_, he thought irritably. "I'm fine, Kinomiya," he replied, his voice a quiet monotone as he looked his cap-wearing teammate in the eye.

"Y'sure?" the wielder of Dragoon – slightly rambunctious, chatty, and easily excitable Tyson Kinomiya – persisted, concern showing on his pleasantly rounded, open face. He and the others – optimistic and sunny Max Mizuhara, quiet but amiable Rei Kon, and the slightly geeky but reliable Kyouju – had been friends and teammates with the phoenix blader for nearly four years now; he knew as well as they did that when Kai spoke like that, it was best to leave him alone. Yet Tyson could not, out of force of habit, leave something like what he'd just heard hanging. He had to know. "You were frowning real hard, and when you said 'no', just before you woke up, you went kinda pale."

The slate-haired teen sighed, resisting the urge to roll his eyes heavenward. "I _said_, I'm _fine_," he stated, crossing his arms over his chest and looking out the window.

Tyson pouted, then turned back round in his seat, refusing to look anywhere else but straight ahead. "Fine." He knew when to stop pushing, when to leave his quiet teammate to his thoughts. Besides, even if he _had_ persisted, it was most likely that he wouldn't get another word from the serious teen; the indicators had all been there – crossed arms, blank expression, the refusal to make eye contact. He, Tyson, should have been used to this by now, but he was still miffed when Kai did it.

The regional championships for that year were still far off, but the group had been invited to attend the opening of a new Beyblade training facility and battle dome in Kyoto. Team BBA had been told the opening wasn't until a week later, so Kai opted to take the night bus. Rei, however, had been against their captain's sentiment and suggested the train, which would take less than three hours from Tokyo Station, adding that though he came often to Japan, he had not yet seen much old capital, with its many ancient buildings and temples, regarded as world heritage sites; the other three had agreed with the raven-haired neko-jin, and Kai acquiesced.

It had taken two days to sort everything out – a talk with the parent or guardian, replying to the chairman's invitation, and booking rooms at the Miyako Hotel. Afterwards, however, it hadn't been that hard to get going; save for Rei, they all had Japan Railway passes, so it had been just a matter of getting their Chinese teammate one and they were on their way. Max had spotted a car that was less crowded than the others on that particular run, and they could sit near one another.

Now Kai was wishing they'd taken an earlier run, or wished that he'd done so, at least. If he was going to have dreams – that he couldn't remember even moments just after he'd had them – that made him mutter in his sleep like Tyson had said he did, he'd much rather go it alone and wait for the rest of the team to catch up at the hotel. But he hadn't, and there was no helping the current situation.

Outside, the scenery passed by as though through a high-speed slide projector. Verdant fields and bluish-gray mountains, all glimpsed in less than a second. That was the problem with Japan, the two-toned-haired teen thought. Everyone was constantly in a rush, so nature's canvas – the contrast and mirroring of sky and water, majestic snow-capped peaks, fields of crops and grass and wildflowers – went almost unnoticed, save by those who chose to take the scenic route.

Slate eyebrows knitted in mild concentration, Kai thought back, trying to remember what his dream had been about. He could remember cold stone and ominous echoing footsteps, and a large metal door with a sign above it, but that was it.

The pale teen gave an inaudible sigh, nonplussed at not being able to remember what it was about the dream that had caused him to react in the manner Tyson had described. And he resigned himself to not knowing, thinking that perhaps later, it would come back to him.

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A/N: I'm hoping that wasn't too confusing (for a prologue). I still need to work on my writing (which has totally gone to hell).

As I've just recently taken a tentative step back into the realm of writers, I'm still seeing where this'll go, and if I can manage to actually stick to what little story notes I have. To those who read and review, thank you in advance!


	2. Chapter 01

A/N: Hoo... it's slow going, getting back into the groove as a writer. I'm appalled to see that my chapters are shorter than they used to be. Spent the last week and a half fixing just this chapter. I just hope the pacing's okay. ^^;

Disclaimer: ...yeah, I wish.

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**Chapter 1: Vague**

There were three quick raps on the door, and Kai glanced up from his book as the lock clicked and the wooden panel creaked open. "Kai?" Rei peeked in, amber eyes seemingly darker in the hotel's bad fluorescent lighting. The five teens had checked in at the Miyako by late afternoon, and then, by mutual agreement, gone to their rooms to unpack and rest before heading out for dinner and perhaps a short trip to one of the gardens – there were several, it seemed that were best viewed at night, due to the lamps and other such décor included in their landscaping. Kai and Rei shared a room, with Tyson, Max, and the Chief – another name they called the shorter member of their party – in another; the room arrangements were becoming customary, it seemed. Kai had spent the last hour or so reading, while Rei had gone out after unpacking the few sets of clothes he'd brought. To where, the dark-eyed teen didn't know, but it had afforded him some alone time, for which he was glad.

"Oh, good," the neko-jin was saying as he closed the door, a small grin on his face. "I was afraid you were asleep and that I'd disturbed you."

"Hn." Not really much of a reply, but then his teammates were used to them, his gruff, oft-irritatingly short responses. Kai marked his place and set the book down on the table, getting up from the beige armchair as he did so. The room held simple furnishings - off-white walls and powder blue curtains, two armchairs, a simple bureau and two beds. The sheets of these were pristine white, and between them was a severe-looking pinewood table, on which rested a plain black phone, the white numbers and letters on the number pad stark against the dark base.

Rei crossed to the bureau and took out a dark blue denim jacket. "It's getting cold out," he went on, with a sideways glance at his captain. "And I don't think your scarf will be enough to keep the chill out. "

The phoenix blader shook his head, allowing a small smirk to cross his features even as he went to his own bag – which remained unpacked – and pulled out a short black coat. "Tyson begging to be fed yet?" he inquired, a hint of laughter in his tone. His teammate would not have been outside the hotel if he hadn't been dragged out earlier, and that usually meant one thing.

Rei let out a chuckle, a bit surprised yet amused at the same time at how quickly Kai had guessed his reason for returning to the room. "Yeah; he's been going on about it for the past ten minutes. In fact, they're already outside."

"I thought so…"

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"Hurry up, Tyson; wouldn't want to get left behind, would you?" For what seemed the hundredth time, Rei had stopped to turn and check on his slightly shorter, red jacketed friend, who lagged behind the group every so often.

Once more, Tyson was dawdling along, gazing with undisguised awe at all the beautifully-preserved feudal-era buildings – palaces, pavilions, temples and their ilk were to be seen at every turn. Though the blue-haired teen was not given to such fields of study as those connected with these examples of old architecture, he was still swept away when presented with them. To think all this had survived the war-!

"Tyson…?" Rei prompted once more, risking falling behind himself; already Kai and the others were about to round the corner up ahead.

"Sure, Rei, I'm comin'…" the dragon blader replied, smiling broadly and stepping up his pace. "Sorry 'bout that," he went on, falling in step with the feline-like teen. "Just never knew how… I dunno, but it's not the same as just looking at 'em in pictures, y'know?"

The former White Tiger member laughed, canines catching the light from passing lampposts and glinting, a hint at the normally calm Rei's more passionate and aggressive side. "Yeah, well, I'm the tourist here, but you definitely look the part," he said teasingly, grinning now.

The two rounded the corner then, and as one glanced up to search for their companions. Wide steel blue eyes caught barely fluttering white fabric, a black jacket, and dark hair on the other side of the street; Tyson reacted quickly. "Over there," he said, pointing in the direction of the scarf. The two bladers quickened their steps, hoping to catch up with their captain who, in a rare – and obvious – display of concern had elected to wait for them while Max and Kyouju went ahead to the hotel.

They'd barely crossed the street when the figure moved already, and Tyson and Rei had to take to ducking and weaving amongst passers-by in order to keep up. "Man, he's quick!" Tyson muttered at one point, barely avoiding a pole that had, to him, just risen out of the pavement as soon as he squeezed past a group of mall-goers. Rei was just ahead of him, long white-wrapped ponytail trailing behind him as he moved, catlike, through wave after wave of people.

Both teens stopped soon – Tyson being slightly out of breath – in front of their hotel. The dark-clad figure had gone inside, without so much as a backward comment on their inability to completely catch up, something that didn't go unnoticed by either party. "O-kay…" the younger of the two looked somewhat confused and glad that there had been no biting comment from his captain. "…in a hurry to get inside?" In all the years he'd known him, Kai being in a hurry to get away from less than warm weather had seemed an impossible thing.

Rei said nothing, shrugged, and led the way inside. The two-toned-haired Kai was nowhere in sight, and so the two approached the front desk to inquire about their room keys. After being told that their companions had gotten them and had already gone up, they headed for the elevators. There was a companionable silence as the elevator car went up, each lost in his own thoughts. The raven-haired blader, for one, wondered at his teammate's strange behavior, and after a while chalked it up to Kai's unpredictability.

_Right, you're one to talk, Kon_… he thought, grinning inwardly. Of the four team members – five if one counted Kyouju – he and Kai were the most variable, in and out of the stadium, in their own way. True, there were constants, but more often than not, either one or the other managed to surprise their friends with an unexpected act of some kind. Perhaps it was this similar duality that had led to the pair's understanding of each other, or so Rei thought at that moment.

"Hey, Rei! Didja hear what I said?"

The neko-jin blinked, vaguely aware that he'd allowed his thoughts to distract him. "Huh? I'm sorry, Tyson; I didn't catch that." He gave an apologetic smile, which the dragon blader returned with an excited grin.

"I asked where you wanted to go first tomorrow, since we still have four days before the opening ceremony stuff starts. I'm sure Max and Chief would wanna know, too, so we all have an idea of who wants to see what." Tyson himself had been in Kyoto twice before, but he had been only around four the first time, and the next 'trip' had been just a stopover, with barely any time to see the sights. He thought it forgivable, then, that he was acting like a school kid on his first field trip – which wasn't a very far-fetched notion, seeing as he was only in his second year of junior high.

His companion looked thoughtful for a few moments, until he finally replied, "Well…I was thinking about seeing the temples here, like the Rokuon-ji." Tyson was about to answer _that_ when a pinging sound interrupted the relative silence of the elevator. The doors slid open with a faint 'whoosh', and the two stepped out, and then began the walk down the hall towards their respective rooms. It was only when they were about to reach the rooms that Rei remembered the steel blue-eyed teen had been about to say something. "I'm sorry, Tyson, you wanted to say something?" he prompted, stopping somewhere in the middle between the door to his and Kai's room and that of Tyson and Company.

The younger teen shook his head, still smiling. "It's nothing, Rei; I was just gonna say I'd tell the Chief that. You know how he likes things coordinated; I imagine he'll be looking up numbers for those places that need entrance fees or something, like museums. Get the time they open and such."

"Heh, yeah." Rei grinned, too. Young as he was, Kyouju was certainly well-versed in setting things up, getting things organized. He never went anywhere without his laptop, and frankly, the Chinese teen couldn't imagine his mousy-haired friend not having it; he, too, had gotten used to seeing the slim, dark metallic gray form on Kyouju's person. It was a bit hard to imagine, like Max without his ready smile, or Tyson without his blue and red baseball cap.

"Anyway, see ya at breakfast tomorrow, Rei." Tyson was saying, already about to disappear into 'his' hotel room. The neko-jin merely nodded in reply, then turned to knock.

Perhaps it was a good thing he always checked where he was knocking first, for if he hadn't, he'd have tapped a certain slate-haired teen somewhere on the face. It would have been an accident, of course, but Rei had no desire to find out how Kai would react to being treated like a door. He blinked hard at having been thus surprised, to which Suzaku's partner responded with a slightly-raised eyebrow.

"I could hear Kinomiya from in there," Kai said, by way of an explanation for having answered a non-existent knock. "You and the chatterbox get lost?" Here, a hint of amusement dancing in the dark orbs framed by soft blue-gray even as he stepped back to let the neko-jin pass.

Rei shook his head, not bothered by his roommate's implication at him or Tyson having a bad sense of direction. "Nah," he replied, crossing to the bureau and opening the drawer where he'd stashed his towel. "How could we when you waited for us and led us back here?"

The long, uncomfortable silence that followed was enough to make the tiger glance over his shoulder at his captain, who wore an expression of slight disbelief mixed with puzzlement. "You… _were_ the one who led us back here, weren't you?"

It was Kai's turn to shake his head, briefly, as he settled himself in one of the armchairs as it was the closest. "I've no idea what you're talking about, Rei," he said at last, gazing evenly at his teammate. "When Max realized that you and Tyson had 'disappeared', I said that going back to hunt for you both would only cause confusion and perhaps someone else would get lost..."

The dark-haired teen knew Kai was telling the truth – it seemed so, the way the reddish gaze held his own, unwavering. But then, one could never really be certain when it came to the phoenix blader; so strong was the grip he had on his emotions that they rarely showed fully on his face. Rei frowned then. If Kai had been here all this time…

"…then who was that?" he wondered aloud, taking in the fact that Kai was already in shorts and a plain white shirt, and his hair was slightly damp. Meaning he'd been in the shower. Seeing as it had been less than ten minutes since the three of them had entered the building – or so Rei thought – and if that were so, the slate-haired teen could not have showered and dressed _that_ fast, with his two teammates practically at his heels.

"Out with it, Rei," the low, even tenor cut through the Chinese teen's thoughts, and he glanced up, not a little bewildered. "Just what did you and Tyson see, coming back here?"

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"…and he entered this hotel?" Kyouju finished, looking up from his laptop. As one, Rei and Tyson nodded assent, and the shorter teen took his glasses off, polished them. "It doesn't make any sense," he said, finally, leaving the glasses on the table in front of him. "Kai was with us the whole time, until we went to the rooms, of course." The other four teens were silent; somehow the re-telling was more discomfiting the second time around for Rei, who had told his captain what had transpired the night before.

"Are you sure this person _looked_ like Kai?" Max ventured, leaning forward to take hold of his cup of hot chocolate, although he did move to take a sip. His ever-present smile seemed watered down by his somber blue eyes; he, too, was slightly disturbed at his friends' story.

With Max's question, however, it dawned on Rei – probably Tyson as well, the neko-jin thought, seeing his friend frown slightly in concentration – that neither had actually _seen_ the person they were following. The build certainly seemed similar, as had the gait and dress. But those had been glimpses, fleeting images caught in and among the rapidly moving crowd that had filled Kyoto's sidewalks.

At last, Tyson opened his mouth to speak. "W-ell….not really," he replied, his voice modulated for once. "We, err…_thought_ we saw his hair, or jacket, or scarf -"

"- but we never really _saw_ Kai." Rei finished, fighting the heat that crept up his neck. How could he not have realized this before? Normally, he was as observant as the slate-haired teen who sat across from him; no detail was too small to escape his notice, and – it had to be said – he never mistook someone for another. His companions knew this as well, but if they thought it strange, no one said anything.

The Chief, prudent as always, shut his laptop off and closed it with a barely-audible _click_. "Well, whoever that was, we might run into him at some point. According to what the Chairman told me via email, this hotel was commissioned for the convenience of those attending the opening of the new battle dome. So that means those staying here are connected with the BBA in some way."

That certainly helped ease the tension a bit. Tyson, for one, had been entertaining thoughts of a doppelganger or an evil twin-like situation involving his captain. Ridiculous, maybe, but it was the first thing that had popped into his head. Beside him, Max finished off his hot chocolate and set the cup back down, expression bright once more as opposed to his seriousness around five minutes earlier.

"So, Chief," the blond said after a while, trying to turn the conversation away from this mysterious person who apparently resembled Kai at least partially – probably a Beyblader, like most of the group was. "Where are we going first, now that Tyson's _finally_ done with breakfast?"

There was light laughter at that, and the teen in question made a big show of pelting his teammate with bits of wadded-up tissue. Bar Kai, Kyouju was the first one to stop laughing, taking out a sheet of paper filled with his neat script. "Well, one thing everyone wanted to see was the temples, so I thought we'd start with those. Afterwards, if no one objects, we can see the Nijo Castle, since it's in the same general area as most of the temples. We could split up after that, and then meet at the Rokuon-ji for a late lunch at around 2 o'clock."

"Sounds good to me," Rei said, grinning. While his teammates _were_ a fun group, there were times when the Chinese was more inclined to go it alone; he indulged in moments of reflection and meditation from time to time, a part of his upbringing he couldn't let go of, and one that required him to be alone. He would definitely break off from the group after seeing the palace, not so much to meditate as to merely take a break from the constant chatter that was a given for Team BBA; he was sure a certain dark-clad teen would do the same, as it happened all too often. "That gives us…" golden eyes flickered to the great round clock that hung over the door into the dining hall. "Roughly five hours, if we start out now." So saying, Rei got up, his ponytail swaying slightly with the movement. The others stood up, too – Tyson and Max doing so with much scraping of chairs – and headed out the door.

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_They're late_.

Maroon eyes surveyed his surroundings – a cobbled pathway, the tranquil pond, the garden on the other side that was part and parcel of the Rokuon-ji grounds. There was no impatience, no irritation in those eyes, just acceptance of what had come to be fact, should one find oneself in the same company.

It was now half past two, thirty minutes beyond the agreed-upon meeting time. And Kai had been there since ten minutes to the hour. There had not been much else to see after the 'tour' to various temples and the palace, but even this had been mere recollection of what he'd already seen as a child. His parents had taken him there thrice before; he remembered things quite easily, and the fact that he'd been with his parents on those trips only served to make the memories of such outings that much more vivid.

After seeing the Imperial Palace, with some obligatory photos courtesy of Kyouju's camera attachment on his trusty laptop, the three younger teens had run off towards one of the museums, and Rei had gone off on his own just as Kai had. The slate-haired teen had wandered around the business sector of Kyoto, noting with passing interest the newly-opened shops – most were hobby and bookstores – and their location and proximity relative to the Miyako Hotel. It was not a secret that Kai enjoyed the occasional good book, but he didn't indulge in this pastime as often; literature that passed his standards were hard to find these days, so he resigned himself to re-reading those that were already in his collection. One bookstore, specializing in old books from the sign that hung in one window, caught his eye, however, and the phoenix blader had made a note to check it out later, perhaps after dinner.

He came back to the present, head tilting up slightly as though to see the phoenix statue that adorned the roof of the temple. He knew it was there, without really needing to see it. He remembered his first view of it had been in winter, the golden effigy standing proud and majestic, miraculously untouched by the sky's frozen white tears. It looked nothing like Suzaku, and yet it made Kai feel less on edge, staying where he was, under supposed protection stemming from that golden statue above, hidden from his sight yet there nonetheless.

"Waiting for someone?"

Kai frowned slightly as he glanced sideways at the speaker – a dark-haired girl with deep purple eyes, his age or slightly younger – who had approached him, spoken so familiarly to him. He made a low grunt then turned away, not in the mood to actually reply. The breeze picked up then, and he closed his eyes and allowed it to wash over him; as a result, less than a minute later, he felt rather than saw the other teen move away when he said nothing more, and was glad of that action on her part.

Suddenly, though, there was the _click-whirr_ sound of a camera and a momentary flash, which caused the slate-haired teen to jerk his head the direction of the sound – a striking contrast to his usual calm and measured reactions, to be sure. That same girl stood not more than three meters away, a black-and-silver camera in hand, looking slightly apologetic if anything. She came over, before Kai could so much as move, and bent forward at the waist a little, a less formal bow of apology typical of most teens.

"I'm sorry for taking your picture without telling you," she said, without looking at him. "I was afraid that if I did, it would have spoiled the casual tone of the scene." Here, the amethyst-eyed girl gestured vaguely about them, and it was then that Kai spotted the black backpack slung over one shoulder, the corner of a sketchpad protruding from the opening.

_Manga-ka_, he thought dismissively, deciding to pay this one intrusion of his privacy no mind. He'd seen others like this girl often enough, snapping away at scenery and people in order to amass reference photos for their comics. He inclined his head a bit, acknowledging her second bow – of apology or leave, or both, he didn't know – and listened for the sound of fading footsteps as she walked away. But there _were _no footsteps, he realized – and it was only then that Kai realized, too, that he had been listening for them; there was nothing to alert him of the girl leaving, save the gut sensation that he was alone again. For the third time, he glanced to the side, spotting a swath of dark hair quite some distance away by then, almost at the bridge that spanned the pond, framed by the foliage that moved and danced with the breeze.

So she was into martial arts as well, it seemed, or a gymnast, two sports the slate-haired teen knew required one to be light on one's feet. As far as Kai knew, even with the heaviest footwear on, those who engaged in these sports managed to approach quickly and silently, like big cats stalking their prey; that was how silent they tended to be.

"Took you long enough," Kai said, smirking as he turned to find his teammates frozen in their tracks. While he hadn't heard the girl move away, he _had_ heard Tyson's dull footsteps on the cobblestones – they'd taken the other path to the temple itself, apparently – and Kyouju's faint wheezing as he tried to keep up with his more athletically-inclined friends.

"Man, Kai, you have to stop doing that!" Tyson blurted, being the first to recover from his surprise. Granted, he should have been used to that then, as his captain had the tendency to repeat the act every so often; he wasn't, though, as he was _still _caught off-guard when it happened. Rei, however, laughed easily, a throaty rumble that sounded like a human purr. Max laughed, too, eyes lit with mirth when he saw the dragon blader's somewhat put-off expression at having been brought up short in trying to surprise the stoic teen before them. He knew sneaking up on Kai was a futile game of sorts, for there was always something that would give them away. Still he joined Tyson in it, secretly hoping that they _would_ succeed at some point; he didn't mind if he was caught or not.

"Sorry we kept you waiting," the blond cut in, before the midnight blue-haired teen could say anything else. "We got turned around somewhere, getting back here." In truth, Genbu's partner would rather have had Kai waiting, then them waiting for Kai; aside from being able to tell his teammates were sneaking up on him, he was quite capable of sneaking up on _them_. He was somewhat used to that happening, but there was no denying that Max still jumped a little in surprise whenever Kai pulled that stunt.

"...I see."

All was quiet for a few minutes, the five teens reveling in the tranquility of their current surroundings – even Tyson was able to curb his enthusiasm. There was only the muffled camera-like sound of Kyouju taking pictures. They had merely passed the Rokuon-ji earlier during their 'tour', so the bespectacled mechanic took advantage of the lack of crowds to get good shots.

Someone passed behind them just then, brushing against Max accidentally, causing the blond to stumble sideways a bit. A hand caught his arm firmly, and there was a low uttered apology, and then the hand was gone. Max turned, in order to properly thank the person for 'catching' him. But the person had disappeared from sight

Save for the glimpse of cobalt hair and dark shirt and pants. The blue-eyed teen blinked hard, unsure of what he'd seen.

"Hey, you okay, bud?" Tyson had noticed Max's distracted look, laid a hand on his shoulder as though to make sure his friend didn't topple over for one reason or another.

"Y-yeah, Ty, I'm fine," the cerulean-eyed teen answered, still not taking his eyes off the corner of the temple building around which that cobalt-haired someone had disappeared. "I just thought I saw something – err, someone." Here he gestured towards the spot he'd been looking at, and everyone – including Kai – followed his gaze. Of course, no one was standing there anymore; Max thought he should be surprised if there _had_ been.

He wondered, vaguely, if he should mention what exactly he'd seen. Rei and Tyson had already encountered someone with similar features – if one could call chasing after said person an 'encounter'. Had he really seen what he thought he saw? Or had it been his mind playing tricks on him? Either way, Max said nothing more about it, and slowly, his friends turned their attention away from him and back towards the immaculately-kept temple grounds.

------------------------------

_'Experiment 07144_… _developed in laboratory… DNA sample from 02562 and 02602…'_

_This wasn't real – couldn't be. Red-brown eyes skimmed the monitor again, frantic, taking in the information once more, checking, searching for something, anything, to disprove it. _

_There were none. _

_"Ah, my star trainee," Yevgeny said, crossing the room, taking strong, determined steps towards him. The teen stepped back in reflex, one hand already at the switchblade in his pocket. "I suppose this comes as quite a sur – ahh!" _

_He'd lashed out with his knife hand, somewhat proud of the sound of metal on flesh, the sudden coppery tang of blood. And he whirled, past the great swinging doors, mindful of where he passed. He'd injured Yevgeny; the guards would be after him, he was sure. And he had seen something… unhinging. Something that made him, for the first time in years, want to leave that place he'd come to regard as his second home. _

_He needed to get away. Needed to find out for himself that what he'd seen was all just a big joke. _

_But what if it wasn't? _

------------------------------

Kai sat bolt upright, breathing heavily. He glanced surreptitiously at the sleeping tiger, silently thankful that he hadn't woken. It would have been difficult to convince Rei that he was all right. The maroon-eyed teen couldn't even recall most of what he'd dreamt – just like on the train ride the day before.

He slipped out of bed and changed into more suitable walking clothes – suitable, at least, for walking around a hotel. He wanted to recall – and as soon as possible – the nature of these dreams he'd been having lately.

The sensations were familiar; he'd reacted the same way when they were in Russia, that first year as a team. And what he _could_ remember of the dreams now were stone corridors and the constant sound of Beybattles. Had there been something else in Balkov Abbey – and effectively Biovolt – that he'd come across before but had forgotten? After what happened with Kuro Suzaku, it wasn't an improbability; Kai wasn't sure that on that second encounter with the dark bit beast he'd regained _all_ his memories as regards his childhood in the abbey.

He closed the door behind him as soundlessly as possible, then padded down the corridor towards the stairwell. A floor map displayed in the lobby, and then at every floor, told the phoenix blader that there was a way to the roof; that was where he'd go.

In five minutes, Kai had gained the rooftop, and was standing at one of the railings, hair and scarf fluttering in the night breeze. He took a deep breath and exhaled, feeling calmer. The sky was a sort of cool brown mixed with gray, with a few stars. It would rain, either later that night or in the morning. At least it didn't threaten to storm; knowing the weather in Japan and Tyson, the blue-eyed dragon couldn't stand being stuck in one place for more than an hour, two hours if they were lucky, and storms that blew in at nighttime tended to break towards morning and last until noon. Better for it to rain during the night, in any case.

The minutes ticked by, and Kai was growing a bit frustrated; apart from what he recalled easily, nothing else came to mind, nothing came to light from those dreams of his. He exhaled heavily – he hadn't realized he'd been holding his breath for a while – out of irritation at this seeming incapability to delve his own mind, if only to try and make sense of what he'd been dreaming of.

It was only then that the slate-haired teen grew aware of another person on the roof. He couldn't care less; he'd had enough of endless skies and winking stars for the night, so he turned on his heel, heading for the stairwell through which he'd gained access, noting briefly the similarly dark-clad form, cobalt hair –

_Wait._ Kai stopped short, just inside the stairwell. That was the description Rei and Tyson had given when asked who they'd seen guiding them back to the hotel the night before. _Was_ there a clone of him walking around? But no, that was impossible. For one thing, the slate bangs were missing; that much he could tell from a glance. But that shade of blue, just a tinge lighter than his own… and the way it was swept back and slightly to one side.

He shook his head. Now _he_ was being unreasonable, paranoid. It was rubbing off on him, the thought that there was someone out there who looked like him. More likely this person merely resembled him in some aspects, he thought, a little pleased at rational thought returning.

Kai made his way down, counting off every second landing until he came to that on sixth floor, whereupon he pushed the off-white "emergency exit" door open. All was silent, no indicators that his teammates had woken and were now searching for him – a very small chance of that happening, since they were all used to him going off by himself every now and again.

He allowed a small wry smile to curve his lips as he thought how they were all dependable that way, in their predictability, striding through the corridor until he came to his and Rei's room and went inside, once more careful not to make a noise lest he wake his friend. It _was_ late, and he'd need ample rest in order to deal with his teammates' antics tomorrow. Thinking of dreams and partial 'clones' wasn't going to help matters.

"Couldn't sleep?" Rei's quietly inquisitive voice shattered the silence of the room as startlingly as if he'd shouted, and Kai paused, his shirt already half off. He'd had to change into more comfortable clothes, and was in the process of doing so. The slate-haired teen gave him a sidelong glance and replied with a curt "Yeah," before discarding the tank top and shrugging on a loose cotton shirt.

Seeing his captain act like this, Rei's first instinct was to ask if anything was wrong. He shoved that to the back of his mind, however, knowing full well it wouldn't get him anywhere. Instead, he turned onto his other side, facing away from Kai's bed lest he be tempted to ask anyway. He feigned disinterest, calling out a low but cheery "Well, good night!" as he did so. A few minutes later, his sharp ears caught the scrape of sheets being drawn back and the _flump_ of the pillow as the phoenix lay down, and Rei willed himself to breathe slowly and deeply, in the manner of one who'd given up to slumber. He was concerned, however; once before Kai had acted in this same manner, and that had been before he'd turned traitor. Was this a repeat performance? Rei hoped not.

_Kai… what aren't you telling us_?

* * *

A/N: And that's it for this chapter. ^^; I really hope I didn't fudge up somewhere. If I did... well, more editing, then. ^^;

Ja na! Peace out!


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